Throughout the night of Thanksgiving Eve, more than 600 volunteers will work to craft over 16,000 meals for those in need on the holiday Thursday.

The sixth annual Ms. Betty’s Madsgiving Harvest will provide pre-cooked meals throughout metro Denver on Thursday, continuing the community-driven giveaway that started as a dream of Denver-based chef Tajahi Cooke in 2018.

Cooke, who worked as an executive chef throughout the metro, began feeding his apartment complex with his wife, Danielle Cooke, prior to the food giveaway that has now fed more than 60,000 people since its inception.

The duo would hold potlucks in their studio apartment and give the leftovers to a colorful cast of neighbors, Tajahi Cooke told The Denver Gazette. Then, one Thanksgiving, the two ended up with around 30 leftover meals.

Cooke decided to head down to Denver and give away the food to those in need, quickly finding a group of older homeless men on the street. 

He handed out all 30 meals.

“These men were older. They looked like my grandad,” he said. “It caught me off guard. Why the hell are so many elderly men homeless on the street in one area?”

The selfless action sparked an idea: gather local chefs and put together meals for those in need during the famously food-based holiday.

“All I’m trying to do is show that we are part of this community in a good way,” he said. “As individuals in our community and individuals that do business in this community, if we don’t try to look out for it, how can we even do business in it? How many restaurants are closing? How many people are moving? You have almost 10,000 people who are newly homeless on the streets. There’s a lot that we can do.”

According to a Denver County count in August, there were 9,977 homeless people in the city this year.

Cooke spoke with local chefs, the owners of the Stanley Market and Broadway Market and the vendors inside of the markets in order to create a space where they could cook a large amount of free meals. Everyone said “yes” without hesitation.

The first year, Ms. Betty’s Madsgiving Harvest — named after Cooke’s grandmother — fed 515 people with the help of 17 volunteers, including chefs and workers at the food markets.

The second year, the giveaway fed more than 5,000 people. That number doubled in the third year. In 2023, they fed over 13,000 people.

Now, they are aiming for more than 16,000 — all to be distributed at a setup in the city and by Mean Street Worship Center.

But that community and family of local organizations, chefs, farms and volunteers coming together is what makes the event truly special, according to both of the Cookes.

“I know that this is bigger than us and superseding what we thought it would be,” Danielle Cooke said. “I’m surprised every year by the sponsors and volunteers.” 

“As much as this is a crazy idea, we would be nothing without our partners,” Tajahi Cooke said. “We’re just stopping for a period of time throughout the year and doing this work. There are individuals out there doing this every day.”

“As tired as we are, at the end of the day, it’s something else to be grateful for,” Danielle added, noting that though she’s busy in the kitchen during the event, she is motivated by the stories the volunteers tell them — cementing the difference they are making.

For example, East Denver Food Hub, Miller Farms and US Foods donated food, with US Foods donating more than $25,000 in food and storage spaces. 

Cherry Creek School District and Colorado State University have given them the space to cook, with cooking occurring throughout Wednesday night at the CSU Spur Campus in Denver, Cherry Creek Innovative Campus and Zeppelin Station in Denver’s River North (RiNo) neighborhood.

Cherry Creek Innovative Campus had more than 200 culinary students help prepare meals. 

“I’m a child that the village raised. If the village didn’t have a hand in raising me, I would have burned it down,” Tajahi Cooke said of his childhood in Kingston, Jamaica.

That aspect of family, community and coming together to help is what drives the chef to continue his Madsgiving journey. 

To Cooke, the work is just his responsibility as a person in the city.

“We aren’t trying to prove anything,” he said. “We’re just trying to show people that we can work together and it does feel amazing to see this come together. At the same time, this is what we’re supposed to see. When you don’t see it happen, you have to ask, ‘What happened to the community?’”

Cooke harkens the idea back to his grandfather’s saying: “One hand cannot clap, one wing cannot flap, but together we can fly.”

Those in need of a Thanksgiving meal can pick one up from the Madsgiving Harvest at Metro Caring at 1100 E. 18th Ave. from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday.

Along with Madsgiving, other giveaways include Brother Jeff Cultural Center, at 2836 Welton St., from 12 to 3 p.m. and the Golden Mill at 1012 Ford St. in Golden at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The Golden Mill asks that people make reservations at the link here.